TWO people from Darwen have been charged in connection with the murder of a Preston teenager.

Jonjo Highton was stabbed to death in a ‘brutal’ gang attack in Preston in August, police said.

John Wilding, 36, and Natasha Tunstall, 28, both of Everton Street, were held after being arrested in the early hours of Monday morning.

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Wilding has been charged with assisting an offender, while Tunstall was charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Wilding appeared at Preston Magistrates’ Court yesterday and was remanded in custody.

Tunstall is due to appear there on October 29.

Mr Highton, 18, was stabbed to death in St Stephen’s Road, Deepdale, on August 23.

A post-mortem examination found that the teenager was killed by a blade wound to the neck.

The subsequent investigation moved to East Lancashire last month, when a dozen officers combed a section of Sunnyhurst Wood in Darwen, after a car linked to the murder was found in a car park near the Sunnyhurst pub.

Thirteen people have now been charged in the investigation, including eight charged with murder.

Those charged with murder are Stephen Walton, 23, of no fixed address, Zaahid Patel, 19, of Park Avenue, Minhaj Musa, 20, of Deepdale Road, Sabaar Dal, 19, of Alice Square, Owen Whitesmith, 19, of Glebe Close, Arron Graham, 22, of Ripon Street, Craig Walton, 26, of Watling Street Road, all in Preston, and Joshua Bore, 19, of Morris Road, Ribbleton. Stuart Eastham, 32, of Gisburn Road, Ribbleton, and Liam Tunstall, 26, of Mark Close, Penwortham, have been charged with assisting an offender.

William Bore, 45, of Morris Road, Ribbleton, has also been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.